India likely to undergo hard quarantine in Southampton

The Indian women’s team will likely undergo hard quarantine alongside the men in Southampton instead of Bristol, the venue of their one-off Test against England, PTI reported on Saturday (May 29) night. Both teams are expected to travel to England together via chartered flight on June 2 and are still awaiting their complete quarantine routine details from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).



The 21-member Indian contingent is currently completing its first round of quarantine in Mumbai which began on May 19. After seven days of complete isolation, they have been given access to training facilities for a couple of hours a day.



"The Indian women's contingent is not moving to Bristol on landing. Instead they will also be going to Southampton with the men's team and start their room quarantine. With ECB yet to send us the routine that we need to follow, the women's team will only leave for Bristol once the quarantine period in Southampton is over," a senior BCCI official privy to travel details, told PTI.



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Both teams are expected to stay at the Hilton Hotel which is adjacent to the ground in Hampshire. Once they complete their quarantine there, the women’s contingent will move to Bristol where they will enter the bio-secure bubble.



"We need to plan our training schedule and for that intimation about the duration of hard and soft quarantine period is very important. It is the ECB which will handover a complete chart starting from day one of our managed isolation," the official said.



India will kick off their tour of England with a one-off Test at Bristol before beginning their white-ball leg of the series consisting of three ODIs and three T20Is.



The last time the Mithali Raj-led side featured in a Test match, they defeated South Africa by an innings and 34 runs.